Bracing



(No Model.)

- L. BANKS.

BRAGING,, ATTAGHING, ANDDETAGHING GOT LEGS OR OTHER ARTIGLES 0F LIKEUONSTRUOTION.

N0.'389,733. Patented Sept. 18,1888

5 w/ZZ UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

LYMAN BANKS, OF MUSOATINE, IOWA.

BRACING, ATTACHING, AND DETACHING COT-LEGS OR OTHER ARTICLES 0F LIKECONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent. No. 389,733, datedSeptember 18, 1888.

Application filed September 15, 1887. Serial No. 249,812. (No model.)

To all whom it may concervu- Be it known that I, LYMAN BANKS, a citizenof the United States of America, residing at Muscatine, in the county ofMuscatine and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Bracing, Attaching, and Detaching the Legs of a Cot orother Article of Like Construction, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had there: into the accompanyingdrawings.

My invention relates to. cots and other articles of furniture havingdetachable legs; and the invention consists of the construction andarrangement of the devices employed for securing in place and bracing inposition such detachable legs, as hereinafter fully set forth andclaimed.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings as applied to an ordinarycot, in which draw- 1ngs-- Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations showingportions of cot rails and legs connected together and braced by myimproved devices. Figs. 3 and 4 are views of the brace devices detached.Figs. 5 and 6 are views of the upper portions of two of the legsdetached. Fig. '7 is a section on line a: a: of Fig. 2.. Figs. 8 and 9are side views showing the positions of the brace devices, legs, andrails when folded together.

A and B designate, respectively, a portion of a cot rail and legconnected together by the usual mortise, a, and tenon b.

C designates a two-arm brace. The two arms 0 c of the brace converge toand are united or connected together at a central point, from which theydiverge at nearly right angles to each other, and their divergent endsare rigidly fastened to the rails at points equidistant from themortise, and the convergent portion of the brace is detachably connectedwith the leg at or near the angle of the arms, as shown. This brace maybe constructed of round or flat spring metal. When constructed of roundspring wires or rods, the divergent ends of the arms are preferablyprovided with sharpened points 0 c, bent at right angles to the arms,for fastening the brace in place by driving the points into the .rail,and the convergent cen- 5o tral portion of the brace thus constructed isprovided with a fastening-lug, c, bent at right angles to the arms andadapted to spring into a socket, d, which is formed in the requiredposition in the leg. WVhen the brace is made in one piece of flat springmetal, the divergent ends are preferably provided with holes to re ceivebolts, nails, or screws for fastening them to the rail, and theconvergent portion is pro vided with a hole to receive a pin, f,attached in the required position to the leg, as shown in Figs. 2, 4,and 6 of the drawings; but the holes in this fiat brace may be dispensedwith, and it may be made similar to the round metal brace with thedriving-points and holdinglug, or with the driving-points on thedivergent ends and with a hole in its convergent portion, or with thelug on its convergent portion and holes in its divergent ends.

The braces being constructed of spring metal and their divergent endsbeing rigidly fastened to the rails,so that the convergent portionsextend over and bear against the surface of the legs, when the tenons ofthe legs are inserted in the mortises of the rails, the lug c of thebrace springs automatically into the socket d; or when the brace is madeof flat metal the convergent portion, having a hole, springsautomatically over the pin f, thus securing the leg in its mortise andfirmly bracing it both ways in position.

When it is desired to detach the legs for folding up the cot, theconvergent portions of the braces are sprung outward, so as todisconnect them from the pins or sockets of the legs, and the tenons arethen readily slipped out of the mortises and the legs may be placed bythe sides of the rails against the projecting braces, as shown in Figs.10, 11, and 12 of the drawings. a This two-arm brace evidently possessesmore bracing and supporting power,and hence may be made shorter, so asto be lessin the Way, than a singlearin brace; and being made of therequisite size spring metal the convergent portion bears against the legwith sufficient force to hold the lug c or pin f in place, while theelasticity of the metal allows the brace to be readily sprung outwardfrom contact with the'leg when required for detaching it from the rail.

What I claim as new is- 1. In combination with the rails or body of.

able legs 13 and the two-arm spring-braces C, having the divergent endsof their arms rigidly fastened to the said rails or body and havingtheir convergent portions free, the detachable legs and the freeportions of the braces being provided with holes in one part and lugs inthe other parhwhereby the braces are adapted to spring automaticallyinto and to be sprung out of connection with the legs, substantially asand for the purposes described.

2. In combination with the rails or body of a cot or other article offurniture, the twoarm springbraces 0, having the divergent L'YMAN B ANKS.

\Vitnesses:

WM. 0. RICHARDS, JOHN HAHN.

